Today is the first day on my path to joy

Yesterday I worked for the National Institutes of Health. Today I am no longer a “fed”. The sense of freedom this brings me is immense – thus the title of my blog – Unleashed. The “necessary” constraints of being a fed were particularly onerous for me. I have “necessary” in quotes as I am unclear how necessary many of the constraints are, but more about that over time. I am initiating this blog as one way to use my authentic voice which has been stifled during my 8 years and 5 months as a member of the Executive Branch of the federal government. I have tremendous respect for all of my colleagues who continue in federal service.

Who am I? I am a woman who uses the pronouns she/her/hers. I grew up in rural Iowa in a family of where men were farmers and women were teachers. I decided to become a physician and urologic surgeon in the early 80’s. I got married in medical school and pregnant during my first year of residency at the University of Iowa. I am a mother and no longer a wife. I decided to specialize in women’s urologic conditions and following specialized training in Los Angeles I was in a private practice for 2 years in Seattle, followed by 8 years on faculty at the University of Washington. I moved to Philadelphia and spent 5 years on the faculty at what is now Drexel Med in Philadelphia. In 2001, I realized the incentives in health care delivery were not consistent with how I wanted to provide care for women and I decided to pursue an opportunity in the pharmaceutical industry. I thought this would be a 2-3 year detour to learn new skills that I would bring back to medical school administration but it turned into 10 years of constant learning and growing. From Pharma I decided to accept a position in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases with a specific goal of starting research that would lead to the promotion of bladder health in women. I achieved this goal. The Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (PLUS) Research Consortium in now in its 6th year. ]https://plusconsortium.umn.edu

How did I get from bladder health to lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS)? LUTS are the symptoms or experiences ( for example, frequent peeing, urgent need to pee, leaking of pee and pain or discomfort with peeing) that occur with bladder conditions such as bladder infection or UTI, overactive bladder (OAB), urinary incontinence (UI) or interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS). While the ultimate goal of PLUS is promotion of bladder health in women, the established area of research is prevention science. So within a government organization funded to support research, the road to promotion of bladder health is through prevention research. Thus the PLUS consortium will gather the science to support prevention of LUTS and assoicated conditions that will lead to promotion of a healthy bladder. Much more to come about this topic in the future.

My view of the world is shaped by these various experiences and more. While I thought being a kindergarten teacher like my mother was too much responsibility and chose to be a physician instead, I am an educator and mentor at my core and ultimately understood that what women needed most was information, support and respect – the foundation for empowerment. Thus I have chosen the tagline for my musings: Women. Health. Empowerment.